Israel says its army has surrounded Khan Younis in Gaza

The Israeli army said on Tuesday it had surrounded the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a major step in its bid to defeat Hamas. The pressure has resulted in heavy fighting and bombing in an area full of civilians who have fled from their homes in other parts of the area.

The Israeli army described the area as a “key stronghold” of Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade and said it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters in the past 24 hours. The military's claims could not be independently verified.

Israeli forces “targeted terrorist cells with RPGs near the troops, those who launched anti-tank missiles, and terrorist operatives who rigged complexes with explosives,” the army said in a statement, referring to rocket-propelled grenade launchers. “During the activity, ready-made missiles, military complexes, shafts and numerous weapons were located,” the army added.

The fighting involved heavy gunfire and a flow of Israeli tanks and troops into areas around the city's hospitals.

A spokeswoman for the Palestinian Red Crescent said on Monday that Israeli forces had effectively besieged the entire Khan Younis district. The organization said the presence of Israeli forces near Al-Amal Hospital, which it operates, meant ambulances could not reach the wounded in Khan Younis and anyone moving in the area was shot at.

Health authorities in Gaza have said in recent days that more than 25,000 people have been killed there since Israel began its campaign to defeat Hamas, adding that more than 63,000 others had been injured.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the campaign after Hamas attacked the country on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 240 hostage, according to Israeli authorities. More than a hundred of these hostages are still in captivity.

Israeli forces largely secured military control of northern Gaza with the help of thousands of airstrikes and a ground invasion before moving south. The United Nations said this month that more than 60 percent of homes in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed during the campaign, while nearly all of the Gaza Strip's 2.2 million people have been driven from their homes.